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by Desi Christou @ Mind Fountain NLP
As we all know, every human being is in possession of the most sophisticated piece of equipment known to man – that complex organ that lies deep inside the skull - the brain. This is a phenomenal piece of grey matter is responsible for maintaining a complex communication system that runs all our bodily functions smoothly. It is so complex and powerful that even in the modern age of technology, we are unable to replicate a computer anywhere near like the human brain.
In this article however, we’re going to simplify the brain functions in more layman’s and psychological terms – we are going to describe the ‘mind’ – how it works and how it can help you to create the life you want.
Some of you may wonder, “but isn’t our mind the same thing as the brain?”
Whereas our mind does indeed lie within the brain, it also is within every single cell of our body but I will be going into detail about that in a different article.
Our minds are far more powerful than most people actually realise. Have you ever heard the term ‘mind over matter’? That implies that there is a mind-body connection and our mind has a direct impact on the rest of our body.
So why would you be interested in finding out more about the mind and how it works?
Consider these benefits of discovering more about your mind and how you can use it in a positive way. It has a powerful impact on your life and just endeavouring to learn more about it will begin to raise your awareness. You can:
…transform the way you think, feel and behave
…create more success in your life
…turn your dreams into reality and goals that you can achieve
…respond differently to perceived stressful situations
…FREE yourself from negative emotions and limiting beliefs
…eradicate fears and elevate your confidence
…understand yourself and others in a way you would have never previously
thought possible
…take total charge of your life
…be in control of your emotions at all times no matter what life throws at you
…understand what’s going on inside the other person that goes beyond the words
they are using
…tap into the power of your mind to get what you want from life
…create happier relationships both at home and at work
…look forward to the future
…learn more about how your thoughts create your reality and have a direct impact
on your emotional and physical health
And much much more!
That’s just the tip of the iceberg.
So what is our mind exactly?
Our mind compromises of two main areas – the conscious mind and the unconscious (or subconscious) mind. What’s the difference between the two?
If you consider that your mind is like an iceberg. The top part that protrudes outside the water that is in your awareness, is your conscious mind. The iceberg that lies beneath the water which forms the largest part of the iceberg that you are unaware of, is your unconscious (or subconscious) mind.
Your conscious mind is the part of your mind that calculates, thinks, rationalises, takes decisions and makes logic of things. For example, we are consciously aware that we are going to pick up a pen, open a door or calculate some simple sums.
Your unconscious mind however is the deepest and most powerful part of your mind. In this part of the mind, this is where all learning, change and behaviour originates from. The unconscious mind runs the body, produces your dreams, blinks, allows you to breath, digests your food, is more creative, creates your instincts and intuition. In scientific and medical terms it is otherwise known as the autonomic nervous system or limbic system. 90% of our behaviours are automatic and what we term ‘unconscious’ because they originate from our unconscious mind.
Our mind works like a super-computer. If you consider the day you are born, it’s almost like a powerful super computer comes into the world. At this point, no new softwares or programs have been installed in your mind yet, because you are just a small baby. But as we grow and as time passes, external mind programs from other people begin to become installed in our super computer, simply by us being in that environment and absorbing what’s going on around. These external programs can come from our interactions with our parents, siblings, other family, friends, school teachers, location and the media. Some of those programs may be really positive and healthy, and others may cause eventual problems in adult life, such as a lack of self confidence, anger problems or having problems in relationships etc.
Toddlers and children are like sponges – they absorb everything from their environment without question. Our personality, behaviours and responses to our environment are formed from quite a young age such that our beliefs and value systems are born from our early years.
These are the developmental periods of a person from the time of birth to adult life:
0-7 years = the imprint period. At this time of life, children are at their most impressionable. They tend to absorb the world around them without question. This is why sometimes all it takes is for a teacher to say to a 4 year old child “you’re a failure!” and that child could go on and develop a lack of confidence in adult life because they absorbed that comment. When a child is that age in particular, you must be careful what you say and how you say it!
7-13 years = the modelling period. At this age, children begin to idolise famous people, others they know (usually older people or children) and often enter the ‘hero worship’ stage. They may ask to put posters in their rooms. They may want to be like a particular cartoon character, actor, pop star or super hero!
13-21 years = the socialisation period. This is when children enter the pubescent and adolescent phase associated with their relationships and interactions with others, including the period where teenagers start to develop romantic and sexual feelings.
21-35 = the development of a person’s work persona. Most people have a different way of behaving at work compared to home. You tend to behave differently towards your boss or to your staff or clients compared to how you behave to your friends, partner and family.
Are there any behaviours that you’d like to change? Are there any areas in your life which aren’t going as well as you’d like them to? Is there something in your life that you’d like to improve?
The good news is that you can change your feelings, thoughts, responses and behaviours. Imagine creating the life you’ve always dreamed of purely because you’re learned how to ‘re-program’ your mind….More about how to do this in another article!
Next instalment coming soon – how to have successful relationships!
More about the author:
Desi Christou is a Certified Trainer of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming - a branch of psychology) and a Mind Coach. She trains and coaches people in confidence building, becoming more successful in business and how to have happy relationships amongst other things.
For more information related to this article, please visit: www.mindfountainnlp.com
© 2011, Desi Christou @ Mind Fountain NLP www.mindfountainnlp.com
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